Before their first WNBA match, Caitlin Clark shares a tearful moment with her former Iowa teammate.
Before their first WNBA match, Caitlin Clark shares a tearful moment with her former Iowa teammate.
The Fever are trying to win two games this season.
Written by David YapkowitzAt 10:37 p.m. ET on May 25, 2024
With the Fever and Aces emblems in the background, Caitlin Clark is paired with Kate Martin, who is wearing an Aces jersey and a Fever jersey.
Although Caitlin Clark is the center of attention as she starts her WNBA rookie season with the Indiana Fever, there are a number of former Iowa Hawkeyes making their professional debuts this season. The Las Vegas Aces selected Kate Martin, a teammate of Caitlin Clark from Iowa, with the 18th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. This season’s first meeting between the Fever and the Aces was scheduled to mark Martin and Clark’s first encounter as rivals. Before the game, according to Dice City Sports, they had a unique time together.
Kate Martin and Caitlin Clark were teammates at Iowa for four years. Martin joined prior to the 2018–19 season, but because of an injury, she did not make her NCAA debut until the 2019–20 campaign. Arriving before of the 2020–21 season was Clark. While Clark only played four seasons for the Hawkeyes, Martin ultimately played five.
As teammates, they supported Iowa in its NCAA Tournament run for back-to-back national titles. In 2023, they were beaten by LSU, and in 2024, they were defeated by South Carolina. Martin had attended the WNBA Draft in favor of Clark, who everyone anticipated the Fever would select first overall.
Players who are believed to be guaranteed draft picks frequently receive invitations to the draft, but Martin did not receive one. But in the end, she was drafted because the Aces chose her in the second round.
During a celebration of the Iowa women’s basketball team on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin begin their careers as WNBA players. WNBA president Barbara Wilson gives hugs to both Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin.
Iowa City Press, Citizen, and USA TODAY Network’s Julia Hansen
WNBA roster spots are extremely difficult for entering rookies to obtain. Actually, only 13 of the 36 players chosen in the 2024 WNBA Draft were added to clubs on opening day. While Kate Martin’s inclusion on the Aces squad was by no means assured, Caitlin Clark was never in danger of missing out on the Fever roster.
Martin ultimately succeeded in earning a spot on the squad of the reigning champions alongside fellow rookie Dyaisha Fair through a stellar training camp and preseason. Martin has averaged slightly over 20 minutes per game while playing in two of the Aces’ opening three games of the campaign.
Her average has been 1.5 points, 1.5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds. She hasn’t tried a free throw yet and is only hitting 12.5 percent of the field and 16.7 percent of three-point range. However, she is a hustle player who will provide energy to the lineup and will almost always make the correct play.
Conversely, Clark’s WNBA debut has received a mixed bag of opinions. The 2024 Fever had a difficult start to the season, losing 0-5 before defeating the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday to get their first victory of the year. Although Clark hasn’t shot the ball effectively and has had to get used to the WNBA’s tough style, he has been putting up respectable statistics.
Clark has averaged just over 32 minutes per game through the Fever’s first six games. Her average has been 16.7 points and 5.5 rebounds. a percentage of 38.3 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from the three-point line, and 88 percent from the free-throw line, along with 6.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocked shots.
